tobacco

Forty-seven million Americans don't have health insurance, and 8.7 million of them are children according to just-released census data. The numbers signal a disturbing trend: the number of uninsured are rising (even as the median income rises) and still President Bush is vocal in his opposition to expanding a program that could extend insurance to 5 to 6 million children, by levying higher taxes on tobacco products.

We've already said it, but now the Palm Beach Postis saying it in an editorial detailing how the election of Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is not exactly a breath of fresh air. After going through Boehner's history of passing out tobacco checks, the paper notes:

Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay decided Saturday to give up his post as House majority leader, clearing the way for new leadership elections among House Republicans eager to shed the taint of scandal, two officials said.

In June 2003 Roy Blunt inserted a provision benefiting Philip Morris in the 475-page bill creating the department of Homeland Security bill, according to a report in the Washington Post. At the time, Blunt had accepted more than $150,000 over just two years from PACs affiliated with the company.

"It's not hard to put a dollar figure on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's importance to corporate America," write Bloomberg News' Michael Forsythe and Jonathan D. Salant. "For drug makers, his support is worth $13 billion; for petrochemical companies, it could be as much as $375 billion.